Press Release

Dear Friends,We are here today, as non-Egyptians - but as friends of Egyptian people and of the Coptic Church to join with you in sympathy for the suffering of your people and solidarity in your pleas for justice.We rejoiced at the determined yet dignified manner in which the Egyptian people asserted their right to enjoy fundamental freedoms.

WASHINGTON, DC – In response to deadly religious violence in Egypt over the weekend, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is calling on the Egyptian government to conduct a thorough investigation to ensure that the perpetrators of the violence are brought to justice in civilian, not military, courts, something that has been elusive in Egypt in previous attacks on religious minorities which continues to foster an atmosphere of impunity.

At least 12 Christians and Muslims were killed and more than 200 people were wounded as Islamist extremists attacked Christians at the St. Mina Church in the Imbaba district of Cairo. Another church, the Church of the Virgin Mary, was burned to the ground by extremists and several Christian-owned shops were vandalized and looted.

Peace in the Middle-East Inseparably Linked to Peace for the Coptic Christians of Egypt

August 14, 2009

Dear President Obama,

Your speech to the Islamic World from Cairo on June 4, 2009 was historic. You were the first American President to identify and to address the plight of Egypt’s Coptic Christians by name. Now you have the chance to translate your words into actions.

The Middle East Christian Associations for human rights is a legal human rights organization registered in Canada, with registration number 1676036 for the year 2005, Files a case to the world Council of Human Right to suspend the Republic of Egypt’s membership to their reputable council,

Al Kalema center for human rights condemn in the strongest terms the barbaric attacks that were carried out by the Egyptian army against Anba Beshouy monastery located in Natron Valley.

An Egyptian army consist of 7 armors personnel carriers accompanied by military police vehicles along with no less than 100 heavily armed soldiers raided the monastery in the morning of Feb. 23/2011 and committed the following:

1- Demolish a small fence that was built to protect the monastery following the withdrawal of Egyptian police that was protecting the monastery , that fence was built based on an advice from the fleeing Egyptian police force and was built on a desert piece of land that the monastery have request to buy from the government.

Coptic Solidarity warned today that the recent campaign of intimidation and incitements targeting the Copts in Egypt is on the rise.

The Copts are the indigenous Christian Egyptians. They amount to 12-15% of Egypt's population, or about ten million people.

Above and beyond the never-ending and routine scenario of violence, discrimination, alienation, and persecution the Copts have endured, there has been an alarming upsurge of significant anti-Coptic activities over the recent weeks:

listen to the economic, social demands of the citizens and meet them instead of

arresting the peaceful protesters who protest

Cairo, August 12, 2012
ANHRI calls the Egyptian authorities to meet the economic and social needs of the citizens and promote the communication between them and the Egyptian citizens who want to reap the fruits of their revolution. It calls also to ensure their right to freedom of expression and protest the mass of peaceful demonstration instead of arrest due to the exercise of the legitimate right to express their opinions.

10 injured and 48 houses and 7 shops belong to Christians burned following turning a house to church in Behma, Ayat district in Egypt.

Christians in BehmaVillage live a real hardship following the attack by Muslims on them, and the burning of 48 houses and shops belong to Christians. The attack following Christians turning an old house to a church, the building followed a long awaited acceptance from President Mubarak and the State Security Police.

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A message to President Obama and the United States Congress

Why ARE YOU SILENT?

How many Coptic Egyptian Christians have to die before you take action?

What has been described as the Arab Spring has evolved into deadly seasons, especially for the original Christian inhabitants of these lands. The dictators who once ruled these countries are being replaced by militant Islamic regimes that are bent on cleansing their nations from all Christians.Not a day passes in Egypt without Christian homes, businesses and churches burnt to the ground.

Members of the Christian minority are wounded and killed.

It is common for their children to be kidnapped for ransom or for coerced conversion to Islam. In village after village, militant Muslims drive Christians from their homes and businesses, where they have lived for generations.

A recent atrocity in Egypt exemplifies violence unprecedented in modern history. On Sunday April 7, 2013, a funeral service was held at St Mark’s Coptic

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has received updated information that hundreds of Copts were involved in Wednesday’s protest in Cairo’s Giza governorate, in which one man was killed and at least 60 were injured during clashes with an estimated 5,000 riot police. CSW initially reported that 150 Copts were involved.

In a comment to CSW, His Grace Bishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church UK said, “We completely reject the use of violence. This is not in the nature of Coptic Christians. However, we believe the demonstration could have been policed in a much better manner and that the mishandling of the demonstration by the police force caused it to spiral out of control”.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is deeply concerned by an apparent slide towards repression in Egypt, following earlier democratic gains. Of particular concern are recent repressive actions by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, and an upsurge in attacks by the Salafist movement against the country’s religious minorities.

The violent government crackdown in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Saturday 9 April, during which at least one protestor died and around 70 were injured, is the latest indication of a worrying trend that local observers have termed “counter-revolutionary”.

Deliberate killings of Christians in Egypt must be stopped. The perpetrators must be brought to justice. Joseph Daul MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group, and Mario Mauro MEP

"The EPP Group is shocked and appalled at the news of the killing of several Christians today who were protesting against the burning down of a church. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the families of the more than 10 people who have lost their lives today in the tragic clashes", said Joseph Daul MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group and Mario Mauro MEP in a joint statement on Wednesday evening.